Book Review: You Hold Me Up

Author: Monique Gray Smith

Illustrator: Danielle Daniel

From the Book Jacket: This vibrant picture book, beautifully illustrated by celebrated artist Danielle Daniel, encourages children to show love and support for each other and to consider each other’s well-being in their everyday actions.

Consultant, international speaker and award-winning author Monique Gray Smith wrote You Hold Me Up to prompt a dialogue among young people, their care providers and educators about reconciliation and the importance of the connections children make with their friends, classmates and families. This is a foundational book about building relationships, fostering empathy and encouraging respect between peers, starting with our littlest citizens.

Why It's On My Bookshelf: I think this is another important book on kindness and compassion. This would be a great one to read to your classroom community on how can we remember to support and take care of one another. It's a really simple book with a lot of heart. Beautiful!

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Book Review: I Am Love - A Book of Compassion

Author: Susan Verde
Illustrator: Peter H Reynolds

From the Book Jacket: I put my hands on my heart and listen. And that is where I find the answer: I have compassion. I act with tenderness. I am love. Love means showing kindness, living with gratitude, and taking care of our minds and bodies. Letting our hearts lead the way can help move us closer to a better world. 

Grounded in mindfulness and wellness, I Am Love asks readers to look inward when they feel afraid, angry, hurt, or sad. When a storm is brewing inside us and the skies grow dark, the transformative power of love lets the light back in. 

Why It's On My Bookshelf: I love this book! We talk a lot about kindness so it was nice to have a dialogue about compassion. I think if we want to have a culture of people really caring about each other in schools we need deeper conversations. This is a really comforting book on how to be there for someone and really feel their feelings. Seems like an awesome community builder. 

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Book Review: Breathing Makes it Better

Author: Christopher Willard
Illustrator: Wendy O'Leary

From the Book Jacket: We all have hard days sometimes - filled with icky feelings like anger, fear, loneliness, or a bad case of the blues. Breathe along with this interactive story to discover the one easy thing you're already doing that has the power to turn those days around. Peace is closer than you think!

Why It's On My Bookshelf: If you are trying to teach your kids when to "stop and take a breath" this is a great resource. It is a line that is repeated over and over in the book. It also teaches kids WHEN they should take a breath. I've been using this in a small group setting and it has been so helpful to help kids to take pause and breathe when emotions feel like they are too much to handle. Highly recommend!

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